Internal-combustion engine.



PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1967.

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/NVENTOH ByhQ/yMM/r/f TTHNEYS P. P. THOMAS. INTERNAL ooMBUsTIoN ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.2. 1906.

PATENTBD SEPT. I7, 1907.

P. F. THOMAS. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.2. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET '2.

mwN@

gym/rg0 uf A A TTOHNE YS PATENTED SEPT. 1'7, 1907.

l. P. THOMAS. INTERNAL GOMBUSTIDN ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.2. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W/TNESSES Wwf@ ,A TTOHNEYS No. 866,538. n PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907. P. P. THOMAS.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T.2. 1906.

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" WMF@ ATTORNEYS PEROY FRANK THOMAS, OF EL PASO, TEXAS.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Speoieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed October 2, 1906. Serial No. 337,070.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERcY FRANK THOMAS, a citizen oi the United States, and a resident of El Paso, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Internal-Combustion Engine, oi which the following is 'a full, clear, and exact description.

This. invention relates to internal combustion engines, and more particularly to the means for operating the inlet and exhaust valves thereof.

The object ol the inventionlis to eliminate all cam shaft operating mechanism or other means for opening and closing the valves, and to Aprovide a structure wherein the valves are vopened and closed automatically by the pressure of the exhaust gas near the end of *the power stroke.

The invention is particularly adapted to engines having a plurality oi cylinders and of the four-cycle type, the exhaust gas of each cylinder being employed to operate the valves of other cylinders which are at a different portion oi their stroke at the time the first cylinder exhausts.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawv ings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the tigures, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a fourcylinder, four-cycle engine having my improved valve operating mechanism, and showing the first cylinder at the beginning ofthe exhaust stroke Fig. 2

yis a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing each oi the pistons advanced one cycle from the position shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. l, but showing the pistons advanced two cycles; ,and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the pistons advanced threecycles.

The'particular engine which l have seen fit to illustrate diagrammatically in order to disclose the method in which the valves are operated, is a four-cycle one having four cylinders represented by the numerals 1,

2, 3 and 4.v yPistons are provided in each of the cylinders and are connected to the crank shaft in any suitable manner, not shown. These pistons 11, 21, 31

and 41 are similar but are so connected that the pistons 411 and 31 move in one direction, while the pis` tons 2l and 41 move'together in the opposite direction;

but Vthe valves are so controlled that when cylinder 1` is beginning its exhaust stroke, .cylinder 2 is one cycle ahead and beginning its'inlet stroke, cylinder 3 is two cycles ahead and beginning its compression stroke,y while cylinder 4 is three cycles ahead and I beginning its power stroke, the relative positions being illustrated in Fig. l. Each cylinder' is provided with inlet and exhaust ports controlled by inlet and exhasst valveathe exhaust ports l2, 22, 32 and 42 being controlled by the exhaust valves 13', 23, 33 and 43, while the inlet ports 14, 24, 34 and 44 are controlled by the inlet valves 15, 25, 35 and 45. Each of the valves comprises a cylinder having a port at one side communicating with the corresponding port of the engine, and having a similar port on the opposite side communicating either with the supply oi fuel or with the common exhaust pipe, as the case may be. Within each cylinder is a piston constituting a valve, and .having a cylindrical portion adjacent one end adapted to close the main ports oi the valve cylinder. when the valve piston is in one direction, and having a large and free passageway intemnediate its ends adapted to permit the free passage of the iiuid through the valve when the valve piston is in the opposite direction. Each end oi the valve cylinder communicates by pipes with the main working cylinders in order to operate the `small valve pistons and control the valves.

The walls oi the working cylinders are provided with exhaust ports so located-that they are uncovered by the piston when the latter `approaches the end of the outward stroke, and permit the exhaust gases to pass from the working cylinder to the small valve cylinders and operate the valve pistons. The ports on one side of the cylinders communicate with pipes 16, 26, 36 and46, respectively, which latter deliver to the ends of the exhaust valve cylinders of I each working cylinder and the next succeeding working cylinder, respectively. Thus the valve 16 communicates with the end of the exhaust valve cylinder 17 to open tlre exhaust of cylinder l when the piston 1l in cylinder 1 reaches the end of its exhaust stroke, and the pipev 16 also communicates with the exhaust valve cylinder 27 to close the exhaust valve 23 vof the cylinder 2 when the pistonin `cylinder 2 is about to begin its intake stroke. Similarly, thepipe 26 of cylinder 2 communicates with the exhaust valve cylinder 27 of cylinder 2 to open said exhaust when the piston reaches the end of its powerstroke, and also communicates with the exhaust valve cylinder 37 of cylinder 3 to close the valve 33 when the piston in cylinder 3 is about to begin its inlet stroke. Likewise, the pipes 36 and 46 of the cylinders 3 and 4 communicate with the exhaust cylinders 37 and 47 and the exhau'st cylinders 47 and 17, respectively. The working cylinders are also provided with ports in the same plane with the previously mentioned ports, and provided with pipes 18, 28, 38 and 48, respectively. The pipe 18 communicates with the inlet valve cylinders 29 and 39 to open the former and. close the latter when the piston in cylinder 1 is at the end. of its exhaust stroke, and the pipe 28 oi cylinder 2 `communicates with the inlet valve cylinders 39 and 49 rai-cylinders 3 and 4; the pipe 38 communicates with the inlet valve cylinders 49 and 19 of the cylinders 4 and 1, and the pipe 48 oi cylinder 4 communicates with-the inlet valve cylinders 19 and 29 of cylinders 1 and 2, to accomplish the same results as does the pipe of cylinder 1 when the pistons of said cylinders reach the ends of.

their respective exhaustrstrokes.

Preferably, each of the pistons is provided with small notches a on their inner sides by which the working cylinder may communicate with the pipes for conveying the exhaust gas to the inlet and outlet cylinders before the respective pistons reach the ends oi their outward strokes, and preferably the outer side of eachpiston is provided with similar notches or cutaway portions b, whereby the compressed air in the inlet and exhaust valve cylinders may escape when the respective pistons are at the opposite ends oi their strokes.

In the drawings I have` illustrated my improved system for operating the inlet and exhaust valves, and each oi the four gures shows the position ofthe differ# ent parts at the end of the four successive cycles. In Fig. l, the piston 11 in cylinder 1 has completed its power stroke and is about to begin its exhaust stroke. At this time it is desirable to'open the main exhaust valve. The piston 21 in cylinder 2 has just nished its exhaust stroke and is about to begin its inlet stroke.

It is, therefore, desirable to close the exhau'stvalveand to .open the inlet valve, and the piston 31 in cylinder 3 has just completed its intake stroke and is about to begin its compression stroke. The exhaust valve of this cylinder has already been closed, and it is now desirable to close the inlet valve, whereby the gas mayv each of the pistons moves'the length of its respective cylinder into the positions shown in Fig. '2i The piston 1l hasnow completed its exhaust stroke and is about to begin its inlet stroke; the piston 2l is about to begin its compression stroke; the piston 31v is about to begin its power stroke, and the piston 41 is about to begin its exhaust stroke, and it is desirable to close the exhaust and open the inlet of cylinder 1, close the inlet of cylinder 2, and open the exhaust of cylinder 4. The gas now rushes up the pipes 46 and 48 of the cylinder 4 to open the exhaust of cylinder 4, close the exhaust o cylinder 1, open the inlet of cylinder 1, and close the inlet of cylinder 2. To permit the manipulation of these valves, it will be'noted that the pistons 11 and 31 are at the end of their strokes, so that the compressed gas which was'in ,the pipes 16, 18, 36 and 38 and the ends of the valve cylinders connected thereto, may freely escape through the cutaway portions J, b in the cylinders and relieve the pressure in the valve cylinders, so that the exhaust gas rushing through the pipes 46 and 48 may operatel said valves.

It will be noted that all of the valves which are not operated by the exhaust gas from the cylinder 4, when the piston in said cylinder is at the end of its power stroke and about -to begin its exhaust stroke, are lin communication with the pipes 26 and 28 of cylinder 2;

, but as the gas in this cylinder is at a low pressure due to the fact that the piston hasJjust completed the inlet stroke and no compression or combustion has taken place, the valves in communication with the pipes of cylinder 2 are not operated. At the end of the next cycle the piston in cylinder l is about to begin its compression stroke; the piston in cylinder 2 its power stroke; the piston in cylinder 3 its exhaust stroke, and l* the piston in cylinder 4 the intake stroke, andthe exhaust gas rushing -rom the pipes 36 and 38 of the cylinder 3, the piston of whichhas just completed its power stroke, serves to open the exhaust valve 33 oi cylinder 3, close the exhaust val-ve 43 of cylinder 4, open the inlet valye 45 of cylinder 4, and close the inlet valve l5 oi cylinder 1, whereby all the parts are in their proper position for the beginning of the next stroke. In Fig. 4 the next cycle has been completed and the pistons in cylinders l, 2, 3 and 4 are about to begin their power stroke, exhaust stroke, intake stroke, and compression stroke, respectively. At this time, the lcylinder 2 is' the one which is filled with exhaust gas under pressure, and this in escaping through the 4pipeslZ and 28 causes the opening 4or' exhaust valve 23, closing oi exhaust valve 33, opening of inlet valve 35, and closing of inlet valve 45, whereby the parts are all in their proper position for the next succeeding cycle, at the end of which 1 they again assume the position shown inI Fig. l, whereby the seriesof cycles may be continuously repeated. It will thus be noted that in a four-cycle engine the piston in some one of the four cylinders is at the end of its4 exhaust stroke at the end of each cycle, andthat at the end of each cycle it is necessary to close. the exhaust valve and open the inlet valve oi the cylinder in whichthe intake stroke is about to begin, to openthe exhaust of the cylinder in which the exhaust stroke is about to'begin,l to c lose the inlet of the cylinder in which the compression stroke is about to begin, andand the 'explosion is about to take place. The mechanism above described accomplishes this purpose perectly and automatically. There are no cam shafts,

springs, or gea'r wheels to get out of order, and as the device is extremely simple in construction and very easily operated, the advantages of its use will be readily l apparent.

It is, of course, obvious that the valves of engines having a different number of cylinders from that shown,

could be operated by the pressure ofthe exhaust gas, as, or instance, a six-cylinder engine in which the operation would be identically the same, although in this case, the fifth and sixth cylinders would operate simultaneously and in the same cycle with cylinders l and 2, respectively, and their exhaust gases need not be employed for operating any of the valves. The system could be employed lto a certain extent, with a two-cylinder engine, although, of course, it would not possess all ofthe advantages that it would with a four-cylind er engine.

As the d cvice is much more simple in construction than the ordinary form of valve mechanism, and as the valves may be operated at any time in the stroke ol the controlling cylinder that it is desired, it is evident that the substitution of my improved valve operating mechanism greatly adds tothe efliciency and power of the engine.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An engine having a plurality of cylinders, inlet yand exhaust valves for said cylinders, and means for closing the inlet valve of each cylinder -by the pressure of the exhaust gas in another'one of the cylinders.

2. An engine having a plurality of cylinders, each of said cylinders having inlet and exhaust valves, and means whereby the exhaust valve of each cylinder` is closed by the pressure of the exhaust gas in another cylinder.

3. An engine having a plurality of cylindersinlet and outlet valves for each of said cylinders, and means whereby the outlet valve of cach of said cylinders is,0pened by the pressure of the exhaust gas in their respective cylinders and closed by the pressure of the exhaust gas in another. one of said cylinders.

4. An engine having a plurality of cylinders, inlet a'nd outlet valves for said cylinders, and means `for opening each of the inlet valves by the in another one of the cylinders.

5. An engine having a plnralityof cylinders, each provided with inlet and exhaust valves, and means whereby each of the inlet valves is opened by the pressure of the exhaust gas in another one of the cylinders and closed by the pressure of the exhaust gas in a third cylinder.

pressure of the exhaust gas4 6. An engine comprising a. plurality of cylinders, inlet and outlet valves for said cylinders, and means whereby the pressure of the exhaust` gas of each cylinder opens the exhaust valve of that cylinder, 'closes the exhaust valve of a second cylinder, and opens the inlet valve of said lastmentioned cylinder. 4

v7. A four-cycle engine having a plurality of cylinders, inlet and outlet valves for each of said cylinders, and means whereby the exhaust gas at the end of the exhaust stroke in each cylinder opens the exhaust valve of said cylinder, opens the inlet valve and closes the exhaust valve of a cylinder one cycle in`advance thereof, and closes the inlet valve oi.' ,a cylinder two cycles in advance thereof. l

8. A four-cycle internal combustion engine havinga plu rality of cylinders. inlet and loutlet valves for each of said cylinders, each of said valves -comprising valve cylinders and pistons located therein, and conduits for conducting the exhaust gas from each working cylinder to certain of the valve cylinders when the piston of each working cylinder is at the end of its power stroke, whereby the valves of all of said cylinders may be operated in proper sequence. y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specilcation. in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PERCY FRANK THOMAS. Witnesses J.MAcxLANn, J. A. Russnm.. 

